Ten Best Playgrounds in California

AUGUST 23, 2014 BLOG POST. California has many unique and imaginative playgrounds, with sculptures and water features. Make it your goal to bring your kids to each of these while they’re still little!

1. A visit to Howarth Memorial Park is magical because there is so much to do and you are surrounded by beauty. Tall pines tower above as your kids leap around in the splash park, visit the petting zoo, be a cowboy in the Old-West town, swing from curvy monkey bars, ride a pony, climb the rock wall, stand at the top of the space net, visit the lake, push their mini cars around the finger park, and take a train ride. What more could you ask for?
2. Dennis the Menace Park is the most visited site on my website out of over 500 sites! That’s because this playground takes parents back to their own childhood with its retro climbing structures, swinging rope bridge, curvy slides, cement tunnels, and yellow arches. Kids adore the high roller slide. There is a skate park on the other side, plus paddle boats on the lake. But mostly it’s perfection to sit on the grassy hills while your child climbs the rock wall or runs about on the huge playground.
3. Situated on a cliff high above Pismo Beach and its white caves is Dinosaur Caves Playground. Your soul lifts as you stand on the expansive lawn, with green green hills above, and listen to the ocean crash below. Sea stacks, a sea arch, and purple wildflowers add to the atmosphere. Kids delight in the playground, where sculptures of seals, a whale, dolphins, and a boat inspire their imagination. There’s a tire swing, baby swings, and best of all, speckled dinosaur eggs to climb inside. Big kids can skateboard around on the sidewalks. Sheltered by the hills, this park is warmer than most parks in Pismo.
4. Another park full of atmosphere is Tidelands Park, at the end of the Embarcadero in Morro Bay. After eating seafood at one of the waterfront restaurants, stroll down to this chilly park where your kids can take charge as captain of the giant ship. They can climb on seals and a whale’s tail, tight rope along wavy walls, step on logs of all different heights, and bounce on a dolphin and whale bouncy. Best of all is the view of the estuary right beside you.
5. If you have young kids you really need to get to know the San Luis Obispo area because it has so many nice spots for kids, including the Avila Beach Playground! After a play in the sand at the ocean’s edge, walk to the playground to extend the fun! There are usually plenty of new friends for your kids here and friendly parents too. Kids can climb the dolphin sculptures, run across the wooden bridge, stand beside the pirate with telescope at the top of the ship, swing, bounce on horse bouncies, and jump from boulder to boulder. After, visit the Sea Life Center for a jam-packed day!
6. In an oasis of palms, eucalyptus trees, and large old trees sits Kidsworld, your ultimate wooden playground, in Santa Barbara. Kids can climb to the second storey and look out over Alameda Park (you should too because it’s beautiful!) Little monkeys adore the course of three monkey bars in a row, the tire bridge, tight ropes, cable slider, and tarzan ropes. There’s a giant whale and shark to climb, and little things to explore too like a marble maze. Walk across the street to see the turtles and ducks in glorious Alice Keck Park.
7. Across the street from East Beach in Santa Barbara is a unique playground called Chase Palm Park. Here kids can climb on whales that spurt water, dig in the sand in a giant shell, jump on a huge spongy starfish, climb to the top of a ship, surf in socks down a wide slippery slide, duck under archways in a Spanish adobe village, and ride the carousel. There is also a little stream with ducks and grassy hills galore to run around.
8. What an imaginative and beautiful playground! Oxnard Beach’s Pirate Playground gives kids the chance to run around a giant sea monster, spin on solo spinners, balance on the skull-and-crossbones see saw, swing from monkey bars, look through a telescope, make music, rock climb, and slide many a slide. Hundreds of palms fill the sky all around them! Bring a jacket because the air off the ocean is cold!
9. Under huge shade canopies, Lake Balboa Playground has everything a child could dream of! Spinning wheels that make rain sounds, drum sets, wild bouncy things for four, swings galore, activity stations, slides, bridges, and even a space net keep your kids busy. Toddlers enjoy an imagination town with a Bait and Tackle Shop! After, you can steer paddle boats on the lake, fish, catch the ice cream truck, or have a picnic on the endless lawns under tall pine trees.
10. Polliwog Park in the town of Manhattan Beach has so many play areas you could never run out of things to do! There is an area with a stripey lighthouse, sand pit, and frog and turtle sculptures to climb. Kids can ride a modern see saw, play in a boat, bounce a seal bouncy, walk by the lake and ducks, roll down the sloped lawn, jump across stepping stones at the blue playground, and try out the workout area. This playground is not next to the beach but it’s a blast to explore.